While Republican governors in states affected by Hurricane Helene have praised the federal response, Donald Trump and his MAGA acolytes continue to spread rumors and misinformation that only add to the suffering of Americans living in those disaster areas.
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Led by Donald Trump, various Republicans have been busy promoting a slew of lies and conspiracy theories related to the federal government’s response to Hurricane Helene in a ploy to make it seem as though the Biden administration, and by extension Vice President Kamala Harris, has done a poor job.
The GOP governors of the affected states have praised the federal response, however, and repeatedly said that they were receiving all of the assistance they need. However, Trump, who is hoping to benefit from capitalizing on the suffering of millions of Americans, has sounded a different tune.
He has spread different lies meant to paint the Biden administration as unresponsive, incompetent, and biased against Republican hurricane victims. In addition, the former president has falsely claimed that funds meant for disaster response had gone to illegal immigrants, and that money meant to bridge over the people affected by the storm is the totality of federal assistance.
And, of course, once Trump starts making stuff up, the rest of his cult will, too.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), for example, has been on a crusade the past few days to “prove” that “they” can affect the weather… possibly in an effort to suggest that the government wanted the hurricane to hit.
The lawmaker is no stranger to natural disaster-related conspiracies. A few years back, she professed her belief that “Jewish space lasers” were behind wildfires in California.
Other theories making the rounds in the MAGAverse included one that the storm was a government ploy to gain access to natural resources.
Furthermore, many of Trump’s supporters seem to think that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is conducting vehicle checks with armed guards and/or is seizing property in the affected areas.
All of this craziness has now forced one GOP lawmaker to take a stand against hurricane-related misinformation, lies, and conspiracy theories.
Before you read on, it must be noted that it is absolutely insane that a Member of Congress feels compelled to put out this type of statement.
Just plain nuts.
“Hurricane Helene was NOT geoengineered by the government to seize and access lithium deposits in Chimney Rock,” stated Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC). “1. Nobody can control the weather. 2. Charles Konrad, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southeast Regional Climate Center, has confirmed that no one has the technology or ability to geoengineer a hurricane.”
That’s like putting out a statement emphasizing that dragons don’t exist, and that Game of Thrones is not based on real-life events.
It didn’t stop there.
Edwards also stated that “local officials have confirmed the government is NOT seizing Chimney Rock,” and that “there was no ‘special meeting’ held in Chimney Rock between federal, state, or local governments about seizing the town.”
We’re so glad he cleared that up.
While it is nice that some Republicans, like Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who fought Trump’s “Haitian immigrants are eating pets” lie, are trying to combat this conspiracy-mongering from their own supporters, it is truly stunning that we have arrived in a place where a large swath of MAGA Supporters will believe anything that reinforces their view of the world.
Needless to say that this does not bode well for the election, which is now just four weeks away.
